Chemical personal hygiene

The toxicity of a substance is its capacity to cause injury once inside the body. The main modes of entry into the body by chemicals in industry are inhalation, ingestion and absorption through the skin. Gases, vapours, mists, dusts, fumes and aerosols can be inhaled and they can also affect the skin, eyes and mucous membranes. Ingestion is rare although possible as a result of poor personal hygiene, subconscious hand-to-mouth contact, or accidents. The skin can be affected directly by contact with the chemicals, even when intact, but its permeability to certain substances also offers a route into the body. Chemicals accorded a skin notation in the list of Occupational Exposure Limits (see Table 5.12) are listed in Table 5.2. Exposure may also arise via skin lesions. 

A good standard of personal hygiene is required to minimize exposure by ingestion or skin absorption of chemicals. The measures include ... 

Fluorocarbons and fluoropolymers have been in commercial use for over half a century and have found their way into a diverse array of products. The members of this array are too numerous to hst but they include nonstick coatings for cookware, construction materials, carpets, textiles, paints, electronic materials, household cleaners and personal hygiene products. As fluorocarbons are expensive compared to their hydrocarbon analogues, they are chosen carefully and usually to fill a void in a product attribute that simply cannot be accommodated by another material. The attributes typically afforded by the use of fluorocarbons are repellency, lubricity, chemical and thermal inertness, and low dielectric constant, in regards to which fluorocarbons are unique among their hydrocarbon counterparts. 

Personal hygiene is also important in minimizing exposure levels to harmful chemicals. Contaminated clothing should be immediately removed and laundered or disposed of. Absorbent articles of clothing such as belts and shoes are particularly troublesome. Provisions should be made for storage, laundering, and disposal of contaminated clothing. 

Personal Hygiene Practices. All personnel should wear disposable or other type gloves resistant to research materials (3) and wash their hands immediately after removing gloves following the completion of any procedure in which chemical carcinogens are used. A hand washing facility should be made available within the laboratory. 

Good personal hygiene helps to minimize exposure to hazardous chemical substances. 

The choice between thermal and chemical disinfection depends, to a large extent, on the recommendation of the lens practitioners. Factors involved include the wearer s sensitivity to preservatives, needs, personal hygiene habits, and product cost. Today fewer heat disinfection units are available. 

Staff must be reminded regularly of the need for good personal hygiene, in particular washing of hands afier handling chemical substances ... 

Plentifiil amounts of toxins are also found in our laundry detergents, fabric softeners (don t be fooled by their lovely names and pretty scents—these chemicals are some of the worst health offenders), room deodorizers, perfumes, colognes, air fresheners, cosmetics, and personal hygiene products. For eyeopening information on the effects of these toxins, the many hidden places they lurk, and how to eliminate them from your body, read my books The Brain Wash and The 4- Week Ultimate Body Detox Plan. Regardless of how you come into contact with them, the majority of these toxins acidify your body. 

Coal Tar Products. Elevated red and white cell counts in urine were noted in 6-8% (29-34 of 452) of the employees examined in an industrial health survey in nine coal tar plants in which coal tar creosote and coal tar were the main treatments used (TOMA 1981). Some of these cell count elevations were attributed to urinary tract infections resulting from inadequate personal hygiene, and not to industrial exposure to toxic chemicals. However, some of the workers with elevated red and white cell counts in urine had cellular and granular casts and traces of protein, suggesting abnormal renal function. These individuals were referred to their physicians for diagnosis. No determination of exposure was made at the nine coal tar plants (TOMA 1981). Moreover, no clear relationship could be established because exposure routes in addition to inhalation (e.g., oral and dermal) were likely. Also, the ability to relate renal effects to coal tar creosote and coal tar exposure was further confounded by the possibility that the subjects were also exposed to other chemicals and cigarette smoke. Additional limitations of the study included seasonal and geographical variation in plant locations, past employment history, voluntary participation in the study that could have biased it in favor of healthy workers, lack of statistical analyses, lack of adequate controls, and use of only current employees. 

Equipment and glassware, sample labeling, personal hygiene, and chemical contamination. 

Demonstration of poor safety attitude. Emphasizes safe work practices, and personal responsibility. Safety precautions and personal protection for chemical handling, polymers, caustic soda, forklifts, personal hygiene, hearing, and first aid. 

The retrospective assessment of exposure in situations like Ranch Hand is extremely difficult, even if the environment is well defined and the exposure levels of a certain chemical are known. In an occupational situation, for instance, two people in the same environment can, for a variety of reasons, receive different doses. The reasons include variations in personal hygiene and in the ability to metabolize and excrete chemicals. For example, some investigators have found that workers who smoke have higher levels of chemicals in their body fluids than their nonsmoking counterparts. 

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